Get ready and fasten your seatbelts! We’ve just returned from an Epic Canadian Road Trip, driving from our home in Kalamazoo, Michigan all the way out to St. John’s, Newfoundland (yes, a ferry was involved). Why? Well, I’m the co-founder of Writing Walking Women, and we chose St. John’s as the site of our conference this year – MUCH more on that to come! And, our daughter, Lillie (13), said that every teen should have an epic road trip. SO. 

The very last activity of our Epic Canadian Road Trip (well, minus the driving and getting home) was a fantastic spin on the Niagara River, with Niagara Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours. The Whirlpool Jet Boat Tour is extremely unique (it's part of the Ontario Signature Experience series), and a whole lot of fun. It's located on the Canadian side of the Niagara River.

It was our daughter's very favorite part of our month-long road trip, and was definitely EPIC! Let me tell you how it works:

You arrive at Niagara Glen and park. Head into the main building and fill out your release forms and step up to the counter. Once you've got your wristbands (waterproof!), you'll head outside to wait in line for the bus. Once everyone on your whirlpool jet boat tour has checked in, your bus will take you on a short drive down to the river.

See this sign? Turn right.

Main building - head in here! Restrooms below...

Each person in your group must fill out a form

Helpful staff at registration

Bus that will take you to the river - seats are covered in plastic (someone knows what they are doing!)

View from the bus line

Here, you'll head onto a large boat that serves as changing room, lockers, and training area. You'll get safety training and then store your belongings in the lockers. Head down to grab your life jacket and water shoes, and then board the boat. The first three rows get the most soaked, so if you are interested in that, HURRY!

Storage lockers and changing rooms on site

Safety training for Niagara Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours

Ponchos, in case you need them. No one on our boat did - we LOVED getting wet!

The boat is large, flat, and has great safety features. There's a bar (and you're taught how to hold on tight), and some pockets for your sunglasses and waterproof cameras for the roughest parts - they'll tell you when to stow your belongings. The engines are extremely powerful and make you feel like you're flying!

Our Niagara Whirlpool Jet Boat - GET READY!

A closed Niagara Whirlpool Jet boat (ahem - WHO TAKES THIS?)

Once on board, a guide will walk you through some history, facts about the Niagara River, and then head back to the pilot's cabin for the ride!

Still dry - starting out on our Niagara Whirlpool Jet Boat tour

Hold on tight!

Caitlyn, our guide

And our driver - he knew how to get us soaked!

We did a few spins on the river, and then headed into the class 5 rapids. We went upstream and then headed down - splashing all the way! Turns, twists, extreme laughter, and a lot of water were involved. We also headed up to the next whirlpool, which is a class 6 rapids - not safe to head into with our boat.

One small spin on the Niagara River - it gets much more exciting than this!

Coming up on the Niagara Whirlpools...time to put the camera away!

Coming back from our whirlpool jet boat ride - completely soaked and happy

We loved getting splashed, we loved the fastness of the boat and the cheerfulness of Caitlyn, our guide, who had us laughing. In a month of travel, I'd not seen such joy on our daughter's face as I did on this experience. It was awesome.

Our group - photo courtesy and copyright Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours

We were lucky enough to catch up with Jessica DiCarlantonio of Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours, and get a little bit of behind the scenes information. Here's what she had to say...

What's the history of Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours?

John Kinney started the company in 1992 with his business partner Joe Kowalksi. John had been working at Joe's white water rafting company (Wilderness Tours) in Ottawa but wanted to be closer to his family in Pittsburgh, PA. With his background in competitive white water kayaking, he wanted to find a way for the public to (safely) experience the incredible white-water that we have on the Niagara River. A full history of the company can be found here: http://www.whirlpooljet.com/about/our-story/

Can you please share more about the boats? My husband was especially interested in the engines - how powerful they are.

The 48 passenger boats have 3 volvo penta Turbo Diesel engines, 1500 horsepower. The 54 passenger boats have 3 Catepillar Turbo Diesel engines, 1800 horsepower

We run Hamilton Jet system as our propulsion and they are manufactured in New Zealand. Our boats are essentially flat which allows us to do 360 turns on the river. Our boats are self bailing, when water comes in gravity feeds the water out through bailing tubes. All 3 engines have separate systems - separate throttles and buckets

I loved Caitlyn (our guide) - she was so much fun and energetic. Does the crew consist of college students, mostly, and this is a summer job?

We employ over 150 seasonal staff (May through October) between our 3 locations (Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls and Lewiston NY) Most of them are high school/college students, and many have been with us for multiple seasons!

How many people head out each summer on a whirlpool jet boat?

In recent years, we've taken between 80,000 - 100,000 people jet boating per season.

What dates do you run?

We run May through October. We have opened in April and closed in November in past years - it's highly dependent on weather. In the spring we have to wait for all the ice to melt. In the fall it depends on how quickly the temperature declines, we don't usually have ice until January but most people don't want to be soaked in 5 degree
weather!

Ready to get soaked! Photo courtesy and copyright Niagara Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours

Niagara Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours Tips:

The registration and pickup is located in Niagara Glen Nature Center. It's south of the falls, about a 10 minute drive (or more, depending on traffic) along the river road that follows the river. Coming from the falls, turn right into the Nature Center. If you've hit the butterfly exhibit, you've gone too far. Parking is free. If the parking lot is full, park on the grass across the street.

Bring a change of clothes - you will get completely soaked! We wore our swimsuits under our clothes, and were prepared from the outset. Because the tours run back to back, the four changing rooms at the site are usually crowded with people getting off their boat and wanting to change to dry. Wear what you want to get wet before you board the bus, and then change onsite before heading back on the bus. If you don't have time, don't worry - the bus seats are covered with plastic and there are restrooms at the Nature Center.

Don't worry about bringing your own water shoes. The ones they provide come in a variety of sizes and are washed in between tours:

The Whirlpool Jet Boat Company also does more sedate Sunset Cruises - look how fantastic this is:

Get the photos and video of the trip afterward - it's a small cost, but has LARGE memories. Here's the video from our trip! Video courtesy and copyright Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours.

Learn more:

http://www.whirlpooljet.com/

Note: We participated in the Whirlpool Jet Boat Tour as media (super thank you!), but all opinions are our own - we LOVED IT!

Photos courtesy and copyright Wandering Educators, except where noted.